The wait is finally over and Star Wars: Rogue One is in theaters. While it can't quite match the same levels of anticipation many of us felt heading into Star Wars: The Force Awakens last year, the idea of seeing a new Star Wars movie is undoubtedly exciting, especially since the buzz on it has been very good. But most Star Wars fans are just as eager to get some details on Star Wars: Episode VIII as they are to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this weekend. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has finally shed some light on when that may be.
Journalist Lizo Mzimba recently posted a brief interview to his Twitter with Kathleen Kennedy that took place during an event to honor the release of Star Wars: Rogue One this weekend. During the interview, he decided to ask about the status of Star Wars 8 and when we might be seeing a trailer for the movie. Here is what she had to say.
"Pretty Soon. We're giving this a bit of breathing room and then probably heading into spring you'll start to see things."
Many fans expected that there would be at least some sort of Star Wars: Episode VIII announcement made at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, but we got nothing. Not even a title (which we still don't have). With the release date for the movie about a year away, it is surprising to many to not even have that much, considering that the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released more than a year away from the release. Granted, that was a very different situation and Lucasfilm needed to build hype for a long time and get public awareness on their side.
As for the whole "breathing room" thing Kathleen Kennedy is talking about, that also makes sense. If Disney were to drop anything related to Star Wars: Episode VIII in the near future, that would dominate the conversation and at least for now, they want the conversation focused on the Star Wars movie they have in theaters now. Looking at how they handled the marketing for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first trailer came out back in April and looking ahead, Star Wars celebration is taking place in April this year. That would line up with that vague "spring" timeline she mentioned.
For right now, we will have to deal with knowing very little about director Rian Johnson's follow up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We do know that the movie stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'O and Mark Hamill, and that it is set for release on December 15, 2017. You can check out Kathleen Kennedy's comments on Star Wars 8 for yourself below.